Diagnosis and control of peste des petits ruminants: a comprehensive review

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is an acute, highly contagious, world organization for animal health (OIE) notifiable and economically important transboundary viral disease of sheep and goats associated with high morbidity and mortality and caused by PPR virus. PPR is considered as one of the main constraints in augmenting the productivity of small ruminants in developing countries and particularly severely affects poor farmer's economy. The disease is clinically manifested by pyrexia, oculo-nasal discharges, necrotizing and erosive stomatitis, gastroenteritis, diarrhoea and bronchopneumonia. The disease can be diagnosed from its clinical signs, pathological lesions, and specific detection of virus antigen/antibodies/genome in the clinical samples by various serological tests and molecular assays. PPR is the one of the priority animal diseases whose control is considered important for poverty alleviation in enzootic countries. Availability of effective and safe live attenuated cell culture PPR vaccines and diagnostics have boosted the recently launched centrally sponsored control programme in India and also in other countries. This review article primarily focus on the current scenario of PPR diagnosis and its control programme with advancement of research areas that have taken place in the recent years with future perspectives.